Optometry licenses expire on April 1 of all even-numbered years. Twenty hours of approved continuing education courses are required for license renewal. If you are also seeking to renew an Optometric Legend Drug Certificate, you will need another 20 hours of continuing education in the area of ocular pharmacology or ocular therapeutics. If you find it most beneficial to your practice, you can earn all 40 of the hours required to renew both your Optometry License and your Optometric Legend Drug Certificate in the areas of ocular pharmacology or ocular therapeutics. Remember, a minimum of 20 hours must be earned in these areas to receive a current Optometric Legend Drug Certificate.
Acceptable COPE (Council on Optometric Practitioner Education) codes for the hours in pharmacology and/or therapeutics are: GL, PO, RS, PD, SD, AS, PS, NO, and PH. Anything coded EJ or PM will not be accepted. Acceptable codes for general optometry are: CL, FV, GO and LV.
Finally, remember that you are not required to submit copies of your continuing education certificates at the time of renewal, but you are required to keep copies of those certificates for at least three years from the end of the licensing period. A random audit will be conducted at the end of the renewal period and those practitioners selected for the audit will be required to submit copies of their continuing education certificates for review.
Additional information concerning Indiana continuing education requirements for optometrists can be found at the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency's website by clicking here. |
